Sneads Ferry Rotary outreach connects with community

Published: Friday, February 21, 2014 at 04:20 PM.

The Sneads Ferry Rotary Club sponsored and led two annual events this winter that have provided warm clothing to families and scholarships to students in the Sneads Ferry area of Onslow County.

Tickets were sold for the “Food For A Year” raffle from October through December. A total of 52 Food Lion Gift cards worth $100 each were awarded to a local winner on Dec. 21. A total of 11 secondary prizes of a meal or food item each month in 2014 were provided by local restaurants and businesses. The proceeds of the project provide Dixon High School students with up to $9,000 in college scholarships. Another Rotary project also begun in the fall of 2013 has had lasting efforts into this winter of 2014.

Beginning in November some 14 students were selected by staff at Dixon Elementary School to participate in the Rotary “Caring For Kids” project. This annual event provides a morning of shopping at JC Penney’s in Jacksonville including a lunch at McDonald’s, all funded by the Sneads Ferry Rotary Club.

Early Dec. 4, students met school staff and club members (and spouses) for school announcements, and then boarded a school bus headed for the Jacksonville Mall. Each student was assigned an adult and had a parent-signed permission slip that also listed suggested clothing items including sizes and colors. Upon arrival, shoppers were greeted by the store manager, and then off they went. With great delight, club members quickly helped the children find the best bargains and made sure the items fit well. Many students also found clothing items for other members of their family. For example, one little girl chose an N.C. hoodie for her father, a necklace for her mother and a hat for her sister. All shoppers were rounded up for a photograph with Santa just before they left the store.

Initially, a total of $150 was budgeted for each student, in the form of a single gift card. In the end, the store provided another $20 gift card to each child, for a grand total of $170 for each student, which made the shopping lists longer. Thanks to the Caring For Kids Project — and caring by the kids, the store and the club — many families in Sneads Ferry were a little warmer this winter.

Pam Honeycutt is the president of the Sneads Ferry Rotary Club.

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The Sneads Ferry Rotary Club sponsored and led two annual events this winter that have provided warm clothing to families and scholarships to students in the Sneads Ferry area of Onslow County.

Tickets were sold for the “Food For A Year” raffle from October through December. A total of 52 Food Lion Gift cards worth $100 each were awarded to a local winner on Dec. 21. A total of 11 secondary prizes of a meal or food item each month in 2014 were provided by local restaurants and businesses. The proceeds of the project provide Dixon High School students with up to $9,000 in college scholarships. Another Rotary project also begun in the fall of 2013 has had lasting efforts into this winter of 2014.

Beginning in November some 14 students were selected by staff at Dixon Elementary School to participate in the Rotary “Caring For Kids” project. This annual event provides a morning of shopping at JC Penney’s in Jacksonville including a lunch at McDonald’s, all funded by the Sneads Ferry Rotary Club.

Early Dec. 4, students met school staff and club members (and spouses) for school announcements, and then boarded a school bus headed for the Jacksonville Mall. Each student was assigned an adult and had a parent-signed permission slip that also listed suggested clothing items including sizes and colors. Upon arrival, shoppers were greeted by the store manager, and then off they went. With great delight, club members quickly helped the children find the best bargains and made sure the items fit well. Many students also found clothing items for other members of their family. For example, one little girl chose an N.C. hoodie for her father, a necklace for her mother and a hat for her sister. All shoppers were rounded up for a photograph with Santa just before they left the store.

Initially, a total of $150 was budgeted for each student, in the form of a single gift card. In the end, the store provided another $20 gift card to each child, for a grand total of $170 for each student, which made the shopping lists longer. Thanks to the Caring For Kids Project — and caring by the kids, the store and the club — many families in Sneads Ferry were a little warmer this winter.